1. Field of the Invention
The subject disclosure relates to tunable antimicrobial-loaded polymer base formulations having a two-part, rapid and sustained, delivery of a drug.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the United States, there are millions of infections per year from resistant bacteria. Some of these infections even result in death. The monetary costs associated with these infections are billions of dollars, not to mention the burden of the actual infections themselves. In burn victims, wound infection is particularly troublesome as it is the leading cause of death in ICUs for burn victims, in the United States. Some of the bacterial or fungal pathogens are Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Candida albicans. 
Current treatments are usually some combination of sterile gauze, systemic drug administration, and hydrogels to promote wound healing, provide moisture, and soothe the wound. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,279 to Bawa et al. However promising, these treatments have limitations. One such treatment is silver sulfadiazine, which is often the active antimicrobial agent in existing topical therapies. Silver sulfadiazine has high toxicity for keratinocytes and fibroblasts, key wound healing cells, thus preventing optimal wound healing. Silver sulfadiazine must also be applied several times per day.